A Christmas to Remember
by dakishime
Summary: He was always searching for something to make him feel whole; never realizing that he was really looking for someone... Someone like her...


Hey peeps! So this was a one shot that evolved into a two-shot with a little bit of song lyrics in it! Kudos to you if you know what songs they are! I'm almost done with the two shot but I'm having a bit of trouble writing for _Saving Me._ No inspiration. Sigh. So please be patient! And in the meantime, enjoy this Christmas Special!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… Sadly…

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><p>A blonde haired man ran through the streets of Konoha.<p>

Elation seeped through his bones as he darted towards a small apartment complex to share the good news with his fiancée.

The said boy was Naruto.

He was once a poor orphan, who had tirelessly trudged through life by putting in odious amounts of hard work.

Well… That actually only occurred in the latter part of his life.

You see, he had been somewhat of a rebel in his youth.

Hung out with the wrong crowd, did drugs, got high…

Let's just say he wasn't a model student.

But when he went to high school, he met several teachers who changed his life.

And one of them was Kakashi-sensei.

The two hit it off and the teacher's good qualities - as few as there were - rubbed off on his student.

Their bond strengthened.

So much so, that when Kakashi-san went away on holiday, he entrusted his small, yet precious potted plant with Naruto to take care of.

But Kakashi-sensei never came back to collect his beloved plant.

He died in a car crash.

So Naruto was left to take care of that small potted plant till the end of its days.

What significance does this plant play in this story dear reader?

Well, let me tell you, it shaped Naruto's life in ways he never thought it could.

Taking care of this plant taught him in turn to love all kinds of flora.

It taught him to love gardening, and then taught him to love landscaping.

It was this unforeseen love that spurred him on in the remainder of his high school life.

It was this passion that earned him a scholarship in the prestigious Konoha University.

It was this vehement need to landscape, that caught the eye of many architectural and landscaping firms, which then decided to offer him jobs even before he graduated.

And it was from these offers that he chose to work in a company that changed his life in many ways.

For from the numerous offers, he chose to work for Uchiha Corporation, an esteemed architecture and landscaping company.

It was there that he met many of his close friends. Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Rock Lee, Gaara…

But most importantly, it was where he had met his best friend, Uchiha Sasuke and his fiancée, Haruno Sakura.

And that, my dear reader, is the significance of this small, potted plant.

At the age of twenty-two, he had achieved the status of a highly-acclaimed landscaper, and yet, he felt something was amiss. He didn't feel content.

He wanted to be free to choose the jobs he could do; not have them allocated to him with no choice but to accept.

So at the age of twenty-three, after he got himself betrothed to Sakura, he decided to go it alone.

He decided he would set up his own company.

He knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park, but he was willing to make it work. So for months, he kept drawing up plan after plan, hoping that the bank would finally grant him a loan.

And on Christmas day, they finally did.

And today was Christmas day.

And that, my dear readers, brings us back to our story, as our valiant hero runs home to inform his fiancée of the good news.

Naruto had decided to surprise her.

He hadn't informed her of his impending arrival - which might have been a tad worrisome if she hadn't given him a spare key upon their engagement.

_Last Christmas I gave you my heart…_

Naruto couldn't wait to gather his love, his Sakura, in his arms and tell her that after several unsuccessful tries, he finally had done it.

He had gotten the loan he needed to start up his new enterprise.

He punched the lift button, waiting impatiently for it to arrive. After a second, he decided the stairs would be faster.

He ran.

He ran all the way to her apartment situated on the twentieth floor.

He screeched to a stop in front of the door and fumbled with his keys. Jamming it inside the lock, he swung the door open in a wide arc, "SAKURA! YOU WON'T BELIE..."

_But the very next day…_

Naruto could only stare in disbelief at the sight that greeted him.

There on the bed was Sakura, his fiancée... and his best friend, Sasuke.

Naked.

Immediately, the two sprang apart.

Embarrassment was evident on both their faces, as they tried to gather the last shreds of their dignity.

"T…This isn't what it looks like Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed as she clutched the blanket to her bare chest.

But Naruto wasn't in the mood for listening.

He was in the mood for talking.

With his fists.

And with Sasuke's face.

_You gave it away._

* * *

><p>Hyuuga Hinata was a lot of things.<p>

She was a good daughter, a good aunt, a good friend, a good architect and even a good baker!

But a good singer she was not.

Sure she could carry a tune, but she wasn't about to hold her breath and wait to become the next Mariah Carey. Speaking of whom, her famous Christmas single was currently playing on the radio.

So in the privacy of her two storey home, while she stirred flour, milk, sugar and eggs in a bowl, she sang a phrase from the last verse of the song simply because it spoke volumes to her heart.

_Oh I don't want a lot for Christmas_

_This is all I'm asking for_

_I just want to see my baby_

_Standing right outside my door!_

_Oh I just want you for my own._

_More than you could ever know._

_Make my wish come true!_

She twirled around with the bowl in the crook of her left arm, and brandished around the wooden spoon she had used to stir the concoction.

_Baby all I want for Christmas is..._

SPLAT!

"That's what you get for trying to use a batter covered spoon as a mike," she grumbled as she felt a piece of sticky dough run down her cheek.

She blanched as she hurriedly put the bowl down and grabbed a paper serviette from above the fridge.

It was then that she caught sight of the photograph of her with her crush that she had _conveniently_ stuck on the refrigerator. She allowed her fingers to run down the photo of her with Naruto.

That's right folks! She was in love with an _engaged_ man!

But the picture itself had been taken _way_ before he was engaged. In fact, it had been taken on the night of her welcome party to the company she now worked in; Uchiha Corporation.

Naruto had grabbed her around the neck, causing the unsuspecting Hinata to flail her arms in an attempt to maintain some kind of balance.

She smiled, and then proceeded to take her first batch of cookies from the oven.

When had she fallen in love with him?

**Diiiiiing Dooooong**

"Coming!"

Hinata placed the tray of hot cookies on the kitchen counter to cool. She then swiftly patted her flour dusted hands on her apron.

She yanked the door open only to be sorely surprised by her unexpected visitor.

"Naruto?"

She refused to believe that Santa had _actually _heeded the wishes she had sung and sent Naruto over to her.

Her eyes narrowed.

Something was off.

Hinata's gaze travelled over her love interest's attire.

He had no coat, no beanie, no scarf and no mittens.

And he was utterly drenched from head- to- toe thanks to the snow that was falling rather heavily outside.

What the heck was she doing perusing him when he must be freezing to death?

"Come in, come in! W…What happened to you?" she opened the door fully to allow him entrance into her home.

"Am I bothering you?"

"Eh? OH! No no! I wasn't expecting anyone!" her attire spoke for itself.

Naruto gave a wry smile, "I can see that. Baking alone on Christmas day?"

Hinata smiled, "I wanted a change of pace for once. No bustling around, no rushing deadlines… Just peace and calm,"

Naruto just nodded.

"Let me just get you a towel to dry yourself off," and then as an afterthought, "and maybe some hot chocolate as well,"

Naruto sank himself into the couch in her living room.

She quickly poured some milk into a pot to boil, and then dashed upstairs to grab a clean towel from her guest bedroom.

It was then that she caught sight of a pair of men's jeans and a black, long-sleeved, V-necked shirt that had been neatly folded and stacked at the foot of the bed.

Neji had come for a couple of days and had accidently left it behind.

No sense in not offering it to Naruto to change into.

Grabbing it, she dashed back down the stairs and handed the items to him.

"Why don't you take a nice warm shower and change into these? My cousin left them behind the other day, and I'm sure he won't mind,"

Naruto dimly nodded and headed off in the direction of the bathroom that she had pointed out.

Hinata slowly walked back to the kitchen and arranged some cookies on a plate.

"When did I fall in love with him?" she pondered out loud.

It had to be when he had interviewed her for the job.

She giggled when she remembered how nervous she had been. She had stammered out answers, and even refused to look up at her interviewers.

_And_ she was so sure she had failed it.

* * *

><p><em><span>Flashback<span>_

Hinata bit her lower lip glumly as she fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

This interview was the worst she had attended so far.

She felt like she was a murder suspect going through a long and grueling interrogation.

'It's over. I lost this job before I even had it,' she lowered her head even more.

And then from out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something white fall to the floor.

A piece of paper.

"Oops! Sorry! Could you help me pick it up?"

Hinata immediately scrambled out of her chair and bent to pick up the piece of paper.

It was a rough sketch of a bridge with measurements and angles scrawled all over it.

Her eyebrows furrowed together as a frown appeared on her face.

"Um... Miss?"

"I...If you don't mind me saying. The calculations done here are very wrong," she said, still staring at the paper with utmost concentration.

And right then and there, she pulled out a pencil from her pocket and began to correct the angles and measurements while explaining it to the interviewer.

"...Hence it would be impossible to level it at 180 degrees to the road if you plan on having only one suspension, but if you lifted it a little higher..." she finally ended.

It was at that point that she realized that she had just corrected an employee of Uchiha Corporation in front of the whole board interviewers.

She was dead.

"I...I am so sor..."

"Well done Miss Hyuuga! Looks like you passed Uzumaki's infamously weird ass test," a red-headed male huffed.

"Eh?"

"Once in a while, he does something to random interviewees, like drop a piece of paper with 'important' mucked up calculations and drawings on the ground, and then sees what the target does,"

She looked up to see this so called Uzumaki.

She summed him up in three words.

A blonde Adonis.

"My tests are not weird Gaara! And since they've only brought us really good architects and landscapers, you can't complain," he snorted at the red-head before turning his attention to her, "But you, have given me a lot to think about. If you accept our job offer, we could discuss this interesting idea of yours over tea..."

She smiled.

"I accept Mr. Uzumaki,"

"Naruto. Just call me Naruto" he reached his hand out to her to shake it.

And it was in that instant that Hinata knew that she had fallen in love.

* * *

><p>"And that was it for me? Boy am I a sucker," she murmured to herself as she mixed chocolate powder with the hot milk and poured it into two mugs.<p>

"Funny. I was thinking along the same lines," came a sardonic reply.

Hinata jumped, causing some milk to slosh onto the apron.

"About myself though," he verified.

"Y…you scared me!" she sighed handing him a steaming cup of hot cocoa.

"I scare myself sometimes..." he accepted the cup before plunking himself onto her sofa.

A few minutes of silence passed between them.

Hinata observed Naruto. The black shirt and light blue jeans she had loaned him fit to a tee – but for once, she wasn't distracted by his physique.

She was distracted by his demeanor.

He seemed to be in the pits of despair.

"Aren't you going to ask me anything?" he finally asked.

"Do y…you _want_ to talk about it?" she countered.

"…Did you know?"

Huh?

"Did I know what?"

"That Sasuke was banging Sakura,"

Silence echoed in the room as Hinata absorbed what he had just said.

"_W…What_?"

"Ok… Maybe I wasn't the last to know,"

Banging her mug down, she headed for the door, and pulled her coat off the rack.

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked, bewildered.

"I'm going to give her a piece of my mind! No one treats my crus…friend that way. _No one_," she yanked open the door.

He pulled her back in and shut the door.

"Thanks for the gesture, but its ok. It's ok. I'm fine, and besides, I can't have you going out with a flour covered apron and a flour dusted cheek," he chuckled as he rubbed off the latter from her reddening cheek.

"B…But Naruto… they…" she protested as he led them back to the sofas.

"I'm actually glad I found out now instead of later. Imagine what _more_ I might have done to Sasuke if I found out after we got married,"

"Um… Dare I ask what you did to him?" her eyebrow quirked up.

"Gave him two black eyes," Naruto smirked.

"Only?" disappointment seemed evident in her lavender eyes.

"You do have a sadistic streak in you, dontcha?"

"I was thinking more of k…kicking his family jewels," she smiled sweetly.

"Remind me never to get you angry," he laughed.

Hinata smiled at him until she realized that his laughs had taken a more hysterical note.

"Naruto…" she murmured as she rounded the coffee table and gently embraced his head.

The gentle touch of Hinata's hands caused Naruto to breakdown. He began to sob.

"I loved her… I loved her and I trusted him. I don't know how to live with this," he clutched her stomach and began to sob into it.

Hinata murmured words of comfort as she slowly stroked his soft blonde hair.

Neither moved from that position for a long time.

Finally, when his grip finally weakened, she eased herself onto the sofa.

"Do you want to go back to her?" her heart ached to voice out the words, but she had to say it.

She had to say it for his sake.

"No… No I… I'll never… I'll never be able to trust her again. I'll never be able to forgive her or him. I hate them. I hate what they did. Why the heck did this have to happen? WHY THE HECK DID THEY DO THIS TO HUH? WHY?" he slammed his fist on the coffee table.

The mugs rattled as the vibrations shook the glass top.

"N… Naruto. I honestly can't tell why… I don't k..know what they were thinking…"

He didn't say a word, but simply hung his head.

"I… wish I could tell you why… I wish I could be a better friend but… but I can't even offer you empty words like… I understand what you're goi…going through. Because I don't. All I can tell you is that I k…know this will be hard for you."

With a gulp, she continued, "I wish I could take this pain for you. I wish I could do something more than just offer you hot chocolate and… and hugs, but I can't. All I can say is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I can't offer you more. I'm sorry Sakura didn't love you the way you loved her. I'm sorry Sasuke betrayed your trust. I'm sorry things had to come to this," she gripped his hands in hers.

"I know it might be hard to hear right now… b…but I do know that someday, you'll find someone who'll be there for you no matter what, and someone who'll love you till the day you die. Someone who'll hold you when you need them to, and someone who will never leave your side. Someone who'll never betray your trust and someone who'll never want you to betray hers… Someday you'll find that someone. Just… Just not right now,"

Naruto absorbed the words she had offered him.

It hurt him so much, but he knew she was right.

Still…

"Shit Hinata. This is just pure shit," he plunked himself against the sofa.

"Yeah… I know…"

"Everything was going so well you know… But I should have seen this coming. I mean, I wasn't spending that much time with her. Obviously she'd get bored. We even had fights over me spending more time at work than I did with her," he sighed.

"Naruto… she isn't a kid whom you need to occupy all the time. She's an adult, and she should have understood why you were working hard. For her, for you, for your future together. So stop blaming yourself, ok?"

"Why is it that you understood what she didn't?" he closed his eyes.

She silently patted his hands gently.

"You'd make a good counselor," he murmured.

"I think I make a better architect," she smiled widely.

Immediately his eyes shot open, and he jerked his body straight and smacked his hand on his forehead.

"Naruto-kun?"

Ï was actually going to ask you something else before this became a counselling session," he gave her a wry smile.

Hinata stared at him quizzically, causing the usually suave blonde to erupt into a burst of stammers.

"I…I…I…I…um…"

"A…Are you mocking me and my stutter, Uzumaki Naruto?" her eyebrows shot up.

"NO! I mean, no… I mean…"

"We can take this slow…" she grinned.

"I…I…" he gulped before allowing an onslaught of words to tumble from his mouth, "IknowI'veneveraskedyoubeforeandI'veneverevengivenahintof…"

"Um…"

"…whatIwasthinkingbutIwasn'tevenconfidentIcouldgethese…"

"Um, Naruto-kun?"

"…loanssoIthoughtI'dwaititoutandseewhatwould..."

Hinata blinked at him as he rambled on incoherently.

"...happenwhenIactuallydidgetit..."

She waved her hands in front of him but he scarcely seemed to take notice.

"...startedwiththatdamnfern..."

Finally, Hinata clamped her hand over his mouth.

He finally looked at her.

"I'm sorry but I really didn't catch a word of what you just said," she laughed and slowly released his mouth.

"Slower please?"

Naruto swallowed.

"I... I know this is a lot to ask, but I was wondering… Could you come with me?"

"C…Come w…with you?" her blush intensified.

"Come work for me as an architect," he clarified.

Hinata blinked.

"Let me explain. For… For the past year I've been trying to get a loan to start up my own company. After so many failed attempts… I finally got the go ahead tonight. I was going to tell Sakura about it but… Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you for a long time, but I didn't because I wasn't even sure I would be granted a loan for this business,"

"O…Oh…" disappointment set in her.

"You're disappointed in me,"

It was a statement more than a question.

"W…What?"

"Shit…. What the hell am I doing?" he let his head fall into his hands, "I'm asking you to leave a well-established company to work for my new, not even started one,"

"Naruto…"

"Forget it. Just forget I asked ok?" he started to get up.

"W…WAIT!" she yanked on his hand hard enough to cause him to topple on the sofa unceremoniously.

"Ooof!"

"S…Sorry about that, but, um… I can give you an answer right now actually," she began to twiddle with the hem of her dress.

"I… Um… I never told you this before, but you know when I first went job hunting? I applied for 50 architectural firms in a period of 2 weeks,"

"Woah! I don't remember you mentioning that in the interview!"

"I don't recall you asking Mr. ex-interviewer," she smiled.

"Point taken. So you're going to tell me you were accepted by almost all the companies, right? And that I shouldn't ask such a sought after architect to join me in this little business venture," he huffed.

"Actually no. Quite the opposite happened,"

"Huh?"

"Even though I got past the first stage with my credentials, I always bungled up the interviews. I was just so painfully shy with strangers and I always avoided eye contact. I was never surprised to receive numerous rejection letters. In fact, the only offer I ever got was from Uchiha Corporations,"

"How is that possible?" Naruto was shell-shocked.

"You were the only one who saw enough potential in me to hire me, and for that I will always be grateful," she shrugged.

Naruto stared her.

"That's why… I owe you so much. And if you want me to be an architect for you… I'll gladly do just that. I owe no loyalty to Uchiha Corporation. Especially after what Sasuke did to you. The only loyalty I owe is to _you_. My one and only benefactor,"

With the end of her speech, Hinata gave a bright smile.

Naruto stared at her speechlessly.

And then to his surprise, he felt a tear role down his cheek.

Hinata's eyes widened as she began fumbling around for a tissue of some sort.

"D…Don't cry Naruto!" she jerked her apron up to wipe his eyes.

But all she ended up doing was putting flour dust in them.

"Shit! Flour got into my eye!" Naruto squawked as he furiously began rubbing his eyes to rid them of the flour.

"Oh! Oh no oh no oh no!" Hinata chanted as she helplessly flustered towards the kitchen to get paper towels.

In her hurry, her leg caught on the coffee table, sending the two mugs flying and her hopping around in pain.

Although Naruto managed to grab the two mugs, hot chocolate splashed all over the parquet.

And then she saw Naruto's shoulders tremble.

He was crying again!

"Oh no oh no oh no oh no!" she cried once again as she leaned down to try and comfort him.

And it was only then that she realized that he wasn't crying.

The perpetrator was _laughing_!

"NARUTO!" she bonked him on the head earning herself another burst of laughter from the blonde.

"B….BUT YOU WERE SO FUNNY! You were flitting around the room in such horror! And then you began to hop around the room with this grimace… You should have seen your face!" he clutched his stomach in agony.

Hinata scowled.

Finally, Naruto's laughter subsided.

"But thank you. I'll make sure you'll never regret your decision,"

And before Hinata could even react, he gave her a peck on her cheek.

Right before Naruto's eyes, the pale skinned woman turned from pink to red to crimson.

And then without any warning whatsoever, she landed with a thunk on the floor.

"SHIT! NATA!" he crouched to the floor and tried to hoist her up.

"Ehhhh…" her eyes went all swirly only earning a chuckle from Naruto.

"Yeah… I'll make sure you'll never regret it,"

And Naruto embraced her. Appreciating the gift she had given him.

The very fact that she had made him laugh on a day like this…

That was the one thing he would never forget.

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><p>I'll upload the second part in a few days! It's already done actually but I still need to proof read it so bear with me! HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!<p> 


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